She couldn’t think of a comeback—her hands and mouth were busy, and her brain just couldn’t keep up, sob. Â
Outside, Cui Wei, attending nearby, heard the faint voices gradually fade, replaced only by uneven breathing.
She skillfully closed the palace doors, keeping all romance sealed inside.
Liang Jiugong calmly waved to Li Dequan.
Li Dequan, along with eunuchs from the Department of Ceremonies, and Wei Zhu with people from Yunya Guan, all left at a distance.
Not too late.
Everyone’s faces remained calm and composed.
After all, the two masters always ended up quarrelling behind the curtains.
If someday they truly stopped speaking, they could be surprised, but it was rare.
***
Jingcheng hardly ever had a proper autumn; even when autumn came, the lingering heat made it as hot as summer.
Yet in the blink of an eye, the weather suddenly turned cold enough to wear light jackets.
For Mid-Autumn, Kangxi planned to go to Huangxin Village Temporary Palace to pay respects to Xiaozhuang.
He sent a decree early: after Mid-Autumn, the court would return to the Imperial Palace.
Imperial Noble Consort’s faction finally received the decree—Kangxi personally came to Danningju to deliver it.
Seeing Imperial Noble Consort so emaciated and unable to rise, Kangxi’s tone softened noticeably as he sat beside her bedside.
“You need not worry about the Tong Family. After all, they are my maternal family. I won’t trouble my uncle Tong Guowei too much. I’ve already sent a message to Duke Niu. He will send someone to look after your father.”
Imperial Noble Consort smiled faintly, watching Kangxi seriously, listening quietly.
After a pause, she weakly supported herself up and reached out her frail hand to Kangxi.
Kangxi hesitated briefly, then took her hand.
“Rest well in the Changchun Palace. Avoid overthinking. I await your recovery and return to the palace.”
Imperial Noble Consort smiled weakly, “To have you come see me is already enough. I… don’t wish to return to the palace. Cousin, just let Wanshu have her whim.”
Kangxi sighed silently, smiling, “Very well. Wanshu can stay in Changchun Palace as long as she wishes. I’ll have the Imperial Household Department care for her properly.”
“Perhaps not for long. I fear I’ll trouble you more then,” Imperial Noble Consort shook Kangxi’s hand gently.
“No trouble at all. After all, I owe you.” Kangxi said softly.
He had promised the Empress Dowager to take good care of his cousin.
He should have made her Empress by now.
But because Yinzhen had altered the jade disc, and because of Fang He, he could no longer grant her that position.
Imperial Noble Consort never mentioned the matter of elevation.
Though weak and frail, she still smiled and joked.
“Then you owe the harem a lot. But in this life, I don’t regret accompanying you at all.”
After a pause, faint tears glistened in her eyes.
“If there is a next life, cousin, I don’t want to enter the palace again, alright?”
Kangxi gently wiped the tears from her eyes.
“Alright. I hope that next life Wanshu will find someone who truly loves her, to grow old together, never to be parted.”
Imperial Noble Consort’s tears fell more fiercely, but her smile was innocent, like the young girl who had first entered the palace.
“You speak with the weight of gold and jade. I await that day eagerly.”
Kangxi swallowed a sigh and nodded with a smile.
Even as emperor, he could not make up for the regrets already lost.
But for the rest of his life, he would hope for his cousin’s dreams to come true.
The imperial physicians said Imperial Noble Consort’s condition was beyond cure, merely a matter of enduring.
Kangxi thought he could visit her again before leaving Changchun Palace.
But no one expected that on the thirteenth day of the eighth lunar month, two days before Mid-Autumn, Imperial Noble Consort passed away at Danningju in the middle of the night.
According to her funeral rites, all the harem consorts and princes were to go to Ji’an Office to pay respects, mourning for seven days before her remains could be temporarily housed at Dongfei Tomb Temporary Palace.
After the seventy-seven days, her coffin would be interred in the underground palace.
However, Kangxi decreed that her body remain at Danningju, with the harem and princes mourning there.
This edict gave Tong Guowei, who had been unusually cautious lately, new hope.
He wanted to have officials under the Tong Family petition together to posthumously promote Imperial Noble Consort to Empress.
He thought, considering the Emperor’s favor toward Imperial Noble Consort, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to have her buried in Jingling—where emperors and empresses lie—closer than Xiaokang Empress’s Xiaoling.
But Longkodo, who had rushed all the way from Shengjing with a family letter from Tong Guogang, blocked Tong Guowei’s actions.
Longkodo had always been the most discerning and intelligent of his brothers.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have abandoned his position as a first-rank guard to follow his uncle to Shengjing when the Emperor used Imperial Consort Zhao to rein in the Tong Family.
Longkodo knew that with Imperial Noble Consort’s fall from grace, the Tong Family’s future had to rely on true talent.
While the Emperor might be blind, Longkodo saw clearly.
“Amoqi ordered that Father make no further issue over Imperial Noble Consort’s death. The priority now is to ally with Fourth Prince and ensure Amoqi’s daughter secures her place in the palace.”
Tong Guogang was hot-tempered and practically scolded Tong Guowei in the letter, going on for three pages before mentioning the eldest son’s illegitimate daughter entering the palace.
Tong Guowei darkened but said nothing; he was unwilling to give up.
Longkodo pierced through the Emperor’s illusions.
The Tong Family, no matter how much they wished, could not produce an emperor with their bloodline anymore.
“I and Amoqi fight hard at the frontier. You must be clear. I heard even Concubine Jing’s belongings once entered Jingren Palace. You should have known then the Tong Family is no longer the Emperor’s sole hope.”
Tong Guowei suddenly looked years older.
Indeed.
He wasn’t stupid and understood all too well, yet like Wanshu, he was unwilling to accept it.
The Emperor grew up before his eyes, carrying the Tong bloodline.
After the Empress Dowager’s passing, the Tong Family should have been the Emperor’s closest relatives.
How could he bear to see an illegitimate daughter take the Tong Family’s place in the Emperor’s heart and make them no different from other ministers and nobles—mere servants?
But Longkodo always knew the Tong Family was never truly the Emperor’s kin.
They were only his most useful servants—once.
He coldly said, “Now the Tong Family must fight for their past glory. If Father makes another mistake, Amoqi can only tell you to guard the tomb.”
Tong Guowei remained silent but stopped any further action.
When mourning at Danningju, he accompanied Longkodo and took the initiative to show closeness to Fourth Prince Yinzhen, who knelt before the coffin.
Yinzhen deeply remembered the Imperial Noble Consort’s last instructions.
He knew that if the Tong Family hadn’t acted rebelliously and unscrupulously, the Empress Dowager might not have passed so soon.
He responded with a blank expression, uttered a few words, then bowed his head to burn paper money before the coffin without another word.
Longkodo keenly sensed Fourth Prince had likely lost heart with the Tong Family and felt heavy inside.
Tong Guowei, however, seemed despondent.
He never truly believed in the Fourth Prince, who bore the blood of a disgraced family.
“After all, he’s not Tong blood. Still, find a way to get your cousin into the palace soon.
“Your son is right: you can’t write two ‘Tong’ characters with one stroke. If the eldest daughter of the main family succeeds, the future… is uncertain!”
Longkodo didn’t object.
No matter what, other clans had women in the harem; the Tong Family naturally couldn’t be an exception.
If Tong’s daughter didn’t enter the palace soon, their once-glorious family would quickly decline.
When the first snow fell in the twenty-eighth year, Tong Guogang and Tong Guowei submitted memorials of apology for the attempted assassination by the Tong wet nurse.
Tong Guogang’s memorial was harsher than his brother’s, strongly pleading with Kangxi to punish Tong Guowei, demote him from duke, and send him to guard Xiaoling.
Tong Guowei’s memorial was tearful, clearly explaining how he had dug himself into a hole by trying to advance the Tong Family, begging for punishment and resigning as Minister of Personnel to reflect at Xiaoling.
Kangxi knew well these two crafty uncles were using a strategy of retreat to advance—forcing him to show leniency toward the Tong Family out of respect for the Empress Dowager, keeping their rank and favor.
“Send my imperial edict to the Tong Family: since Tong Guowei refuses to be Minister of Personnel, assign him to the Ministry of Works. As for guarding the tomb, no need to mention it again.”
Kangxi planned to employ Tong Guogang heavily and avoid provoking Tong Guowei, which would invite suspicion at court.
He also had Liang Jiugong announce the imperial decree Tong Family daughters were to enter Chengqian Palace in the twelfth lunar month, be titled Concubine, and enjoy the treatment .
This edict caused no surprise in the previous dynasty.
After all, the Emperor’s favor toward the Tong Family was no less than that for Hesheri.
Hesheri even had a Consort in the palace; it was only natural the Tong Family would now have Concubine.
Some even thought the rank was too low—rumors said she might have been a Consort, but the assassination attempt likely lowered her status.
The Tong Family had long been powerful in court but were not without enemies; many ministers rejoiced at the new Minister of Works’ troubles.
Suo’etu even visited the Ministry of Works, sending a jade ruyi as a congratulatory gift to mock Tong Guowei’s failure to steal chickens without losing the eggs.
As the Imperial Noble Consort said before she died, Tong Guowei was reckless and prone to mistakes—sometimes even more outrageous than others.
But when clear-headed, he was no less capable in dealing with people than the old foxes in court.
He smiled and thanked Suo’etu for the jade ruyi, even praising Suo’etu’s honesty and integrity in court, saying it was rare for a first-rank minister to be so clean he could only offer a jade ruyi, urging all ministers to learn from him.
Everyone knew Zhongtang Suo had allowed his family to seize land recklessly and had been reprimanded and removed by the Emperor before.
Tong Guowei’s cleverly disguised praise and criticism caused Suo’etu to be in a bad mood for days.
But that was all the turmoil at court; no other waves followed.
The harem, however, was quite the opposite.
All the consorts carried subtle and complicated emotions, their gazes fixed on Yanxi Palace.
Since the latter half of last year, for over a year, other than Imperial Consort Zhao, the Emperor had not visited any other consorts—making almost the entire harem restless and anxious.
Though the mourning period was ongoing, after the hot mourning ended, the Department of Ceremonies would present Green Plaques, and consorts could begin attending the Emperor.
But the Emperor wasn’t resting in Qianqing Palace; he only ever went to see Imperial Consort Zhao.
How could others not be anxious?
The eldest consort, Consort Hui, was only thirty-seven—old enough to be a grandmother but not yet at the point of fading beauty.
Whether for better days or the eldest prince’s dignity, the Emperor should visit Changchun Palace more often.
Yet he never did.
But the more favored Fang He became, the less the other consorts dared make any moves in secret.
Before, the Grand Empress Dowager was in charge, but now only the Emperor and Empress Dowager remained.
Both adored Fang He as if she were precious beyond words.
If Fang He wanted to ascend to the heavens, these two would immediately send someone with a ladder.
No matter how many tricks the other consorts had, they would ultimately be fatal.
They waited and waited, finally receiving the imperial decree ordering the Tong Family daughter’s entry as a concubine.
When Fang He went to Shoukang Palace to pay respects, she found the entire main hall packed—no one absent.
Even the Consort who had been unusually low-profile for nearly a year, exhausted from arranging two funerals and ill, appeared with a sickly face.
The moment Fang He entered, all eyes turned to her, their eager expressions more intimate than seeing their own mothers.
Fang He almost couldn’t suppress the urge to slip behind Chunlai—was this a gang-up?
Before Fang He could even greet the Consort, Consort Hui—who had never shown her a friendly face—was the first to rise with a warm smile.
“Imperial Consort Zhao is here? We were just talking about the Tong Family sister entering the palace. Don’t know what gift you plan to give Concubine Jing?”
Fang He raised an eyebrow—oh, so they wanted to see her argue with His Majesty.
Unfortunately, she had been very satisfied with Kangxi lately.
What if she didn’t want to quarrel?